This Deron Williams/Dwight Howard is setting up so obviously. Deron is going to be able to jump to Dallas, his hometown if he wants to. NJ knows that if they don't get Dwight (unlikely) that they are most likely to lose Deron for nothing because they want to play together. Will they figure it out at the trade deadline if they can't convince Orlando to make the trade with Dwight and decide to move Deron or will they hang on to him and risk him walking away for nothing? The best solution to the dilemma is to move Deron to ....... yeah, Houston. We could give them Lowry and something else, expirings and a youngster like Patterson or Morris. That leaves us plenty of assets to send to Orlando for Howard, picks, young players, expirings, etc.
Umm...we can't trade for DHO with our roster intact. What makes you think we can trade for him after trading our "assets" for DWill? Moe
Wait, why can't we do that? All the trade scenarios have us using our assets to facilitate his trade to other teams. There's no reason we can't trade for him straight up.
We won't have to give up the farm for DWill. Lowry is playing out of his mind. He has tremendous value, especially with his contract. Nobody else is going to be willing to give NJ much for DWill knowing he is going to walk to Dallas. I suppose the Lakers could offer NJ Gasol straight up for DWill. Then offer up Bynum and trash for Howard and taking back salary from Orlando. But don't know if they're willing to do that and not convinced Orlando would settle for that offer. Not many other options for DWill to be traded to since he won't be willing to sign an extension. Dallas could trade for him but they can't give NJ as good a deal as we can. If we continue to play poorly going into the trade deadline on March 15 and are an obvious lottery team and NY continues to trend towards the lottery, that is 2 potential lottery picks that could be used to add value to a deal. We could agree to remove the lottery protection on the pick we owe NJ and just give them the pick outright. Lowry plus Thabeet or Dally and a lottery pick?? Doesn't get much better than that. Then that leaves us Martin/Scola/DallyThabeet/whatever else plus the NY pick to Orlando for Dwight/Hedo/whatever else.
[rquoter].... If Howard wants to go to Dallas or Brooklyn, what difference would it make whether he made that additional $25 million in the last year of a five-year deal with Orlando or the first year of a new deal when he becomes a free agent again in 2016? As long as he stays healthy, the answer is simple: no difference. If Howard wants to be a Laker, his only path there would be via trade. Would the Lakers give up Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, who returned this week with three straight double-doubles and the first 20-20 game of his career? The Lakers say no, but that's easy to say in January when the trade deadline is in March. The Lakers very clearly are the wild card in the Howard scenario. Rival execs are dubious that a Nets package centered around the injured Brook Lopez and first-round picks will be enough to entice Orlando. In that case, the Nets' bid to get a third team involved will be crucial to their efforts to add the one player who could persuade Deron Williams to embrace the organization and the move to Brooklyn. But with Williams' body language already suffering during the Nets' 1-6 start, observers say to be on the lookout for D-Will to soon lose his will to stay in New Jersey long enough to make it to the New York City boroughs. "I don't think he feels it there," said a person who knows Williams and his tendencies well. "I could see him saying, 'I've got all the money. I can go back to Dallas. That's my home.' I don't see any spunk in his game right now. He's going through the motions." This is where the Magic's nightmare scenario intersects with doomsday for the Nets. If the Magic elect not to trade Howard -- thus showing their fan base that they did everything in their power to keep him and he still wouldn't stay -- or trade him somewhere besides New Jersey, the Nets would be sunk. Having given up Derrick Favors, two first-round picks and Devin Harris for Williams, the Nets would be devastated if Williams passed up the money for a chance to return home to Dallas -- something those who know Williams say the headstrong point guard might just be bold enough to do. Throw into the mix that with a couple of moves -- amnestying Brendan Haywood and buying out Lamar Odom -- the Mavs would have room for both Williams and Howard, and this cruel game of musical chairs could bring two franchises to their knees. ....[/rquoter]
